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Vostok Amphibia Review
Updated 8 May 2009 by Editor, RussianWatchGuide.com Question: Is it possible to buy a brand new, solidly built divers watch that's water resistant to 200 meters, that uses an automatic mechanical movement, and costs less than a hundred bucks? Answer: You bet it is. The watch I just described is the Vostok Amphibia. And the one shown below cost just $49. 
I had read a few good things about Vostok Amphibia watches on message boards recently. Posters seemed to believe that the Vostok Amphibia (sometimes called Amphibian or Amfibia) is a lot of watch for the money. Now that I've had the opportunity to see and wear one for myself, I have to agree. This watch is an exceptional value. It's heavy and solid and, because I own other Vostok watches, I know the movement will be reliable.
As for styling, well, that is a matter of personal taste. My friends tell me this is an ugly watch. I disagree. True, it's bulky and "retro". But it's also strong, functional and unique. You be the judge. Vostok makes a number of different Amphibia watches so if you generally like divers watches you may find a style that appeals to you. I purchased this watch on eBay from the Zenitar Store, but you can also find it at Smirs and other online stores. I paid $49 plus $15 for shipping. Shipping from Russia to Canada took about two weeks. The watch is made in Russia. The manual supplied with the watch is in Russian only. However, Zenitar will send out an English manual at the buyer's request. You can also view the English-version of the Vostok Amphibia manual here. Specifications - Automatic Vostok self-winding movement 2416B with 31 ruby jewels - Water resistant up to 200 meters - Central second hand - Anti-shock balance - Screw-down winding head and back cover - Case diameter (without the crown): 40 mm - Case thickness: 12 mm - Stainless steel bracelet - Width of bracelet: 18 mm - Date-of-month calendar - Graduated rotated bezel - Totally wound watches runs not less than 31 hrs - Stainless steel rear cap - Luminous hands and markings - Average term of service 10 years - 1 year manufacturer warranty Cost: $49
Bought one of these in last days of Soviet Union, so approx 20 years ago. Wanted for military use as I had trashed some expensive watches.
Seriously abused in its life and yes, not perfect for everything, but still going. After all this time the bearings on the weight have worn so there is a scary rattle when the watch is shaken. I aim to buy an overwound one and swap the weight.
Not sure how the modern ones compare, but for the people here that have accuracy problems - there is an advance/retard lever on the movement, so give it a (gentle)nudge. I bought a Poljot chronograph during my youth in the 70's because I liked the look of it.Forty years later I am still wearing it on occasion.It has never been serviced as most watchmakers in Australia get nervous with anything that is not Swiss and for what they can't charge a fortune to service.A pity that Russian watches are not marketed more competently as they are of good quality. UPDATE 2/12.
My Amphibian is over a year old now and I've warn it everyday...including while playing golf, snorkeling, sawing, hammering, working on cars, you name it. This thing is indestructible. Folks, this thing is the AK47 of wrist watches. It now looses about 2 minutes a week...I don't care who you are, you're a liar if you say that's not acceptable. Plus, I don't have to feel like a poser for wearing the latest pop culture fad. I recommend these to anyone who actually is interested in trying to ware out a watch. I have just recently purchase an Amphibia Divers Watch. When you look at
it is all Russian. It does not look like any other make of watch. I got an Amphibian 0118f from Zenitar and it's the cat's ass! Simple, solid, minimalist, retro, automatic and keeps great time. Everyone in the watch business says you can beat the crap out of Vostoks and I don't doubt it. Hi I have a Vostok watch ..it is the best watch I have ever owned ...no problems ..keeps great time looks great ....John from australia I bought several Russian watches while working in Moscow 20 years ago. My favorite is a manual-wind white faced Vostok Amfibia with no date window. It keeps quartz-like accuracy, and looks great with a waterproof leather after-market wrist strap. Very impressed, as it has been sitting around for 18 of those years without cleaning, and been worn continuously just during the last 2. Also love the look and heft of it, and much thinner body than the automatic version. Width of the bracelet on amfibia ministry is actually 22 mm.
Bulky or ugly is it not, it is pure retro and matter of taste. Me and my girl have 2 ministry amfibias. Very nice and accurate watches. Mine runs 0 to +4 secs daily, and girlfriend's is -4 secs for 20 days??!!
Bear in mind, if you add a decent bracelet, since the original one is bad, you have a very good watch and it is still great value for money! I have had a Vostok Amphibia for 3 years. Last April (2010) I lost it.
Last week I found it under a hedge in my garden It had been subject to 10 months of rain, hot summer and the coldest, longest winter in the UK for years.
I gave it a quick clean outside, wound it up and it has kept time for the last 2 weeks perfectly.
This is a £40 watch but incredibly well made. If I lost my Tag (£900) I doubt it would have done much better.
Watch has several drawbacks that would make it unsuitable for actual dive use:
Lume paint is absolutely terrible, and would not be visible underwater. Dive bezel on this watch lacks legible markers, lacks a positive "click" feature, and is bidirectional.
Stock bracelet is also lousy, though that's easily remedied with an aftermarket band. Yeh I love those Vostok watches I own a few of them now my favourite being one which has a white face and a picture of a clipper ship on the front.Great. I purchased an Amphibia, Nov 2010. The watch is accurate to within 2 second per day. It was so accurate that I actually stopped wearing it for two days just to be sure it stopped running. I was afraid I had gotten swinddled into buying a China express quarts version. Based on price, accuracy, anticipated durability, rugged good looks, and the fact that it's not made in China or Japan, I feel it's the best value watch I've ever purchased. Thanks for your feedback CJ.
I'm quietly impressed with the accuracy so far. For a NON quartz movement watch, it is performing up there with the best. Only minor issue is that the dial isn't luminous. BWC: To answer your question, they are all "sloppy" like that on the shaft. It's normal though perhaps disconcerting at first. At the end of the day you can't really expect Swiss quality for 1/100th of the price. Still a good mechanism though. Have just received a Vostok 0380 and have a question. Carefully pulling out the winding head, I notice that it appears "sloppy" on its shaft.( fully out to position 3 ), unlike swiss winders which are quite secure.
Is this normal for Russian watches or do I have a problem looming.? I like my Amphibia too (got it last month); I only have one question: how do i put the second hand back on the watch? it popped off one morning and sits at the bottom of the crystal now.
This would be comical if it weren't 100% true.
I agree, James. My Vostok watch sucks too. Looks cool, but as you said quality is just not there. What's the point of wearing a watch if it doesn't tell you the right time? Unless you want to be late for everthing... I had an Amphibia - the kind that is waterproof to 300 metres or something crazy like that. The watch started losing loads of time - running way too slow, so I returned it.
I bought at the same time a non-waterproof one - the kind that looks very similar but is a bit less bulky. That lasted much longer but after about four years it has recently failed too. It just won't retain its power, and it does not wind sufficiently by itself and ends up running slow.
Really sad about it since I love the styling of these watches, but the quality is not there. VOSTOK AMPHIBIA WATCHES for sale:
www.russian-watches.info
I bought mine 17 years ago in the streets of Saigon, Vietnam. It's not an automatic version, but it works fine. I ordered a new automatic model and hope that it will last 20 years too. The only fragile part is the bezel that tends to loose it's chrome cover, but you can provide new ones in Zenitar store. I really love this watch, but my wife hates it, probably its vintage Russian military look ;o) I have a Kommandirskie its good to about 6 seconds per day and I just bought a new Amphibian it is within a second per day they are well worth the money spent best value in watches on th market today. tough, reliable and as accurate as most overpriced swiss watches - get one! I bought an Albatross in original octagonal Amphibia case (Marine Border Patrol version) in the late 1980s, from a shop in Sydney (Australia) which sold Soviet books and goods. Its hand-wound 2414A calibre gains a little more than a minute a day, so all is well. With two decades of use and the benefit of this hindsight, I can say it's a marvelous watch; not having experiences with examples produced after the dissolution of the Soviet Union I honestly do not know how a new one compares in the long run; if I get one I can tell you how it goes in another twenty years :D Took my Amfibia on holiday, swam in the Med with it, keeps good time, loses about a minute a day. Great watch, although I love my Rodina and Sturmanskie too. I love my Amphibia, though (probably my fault) it once lost a luminous marking (one dot), that wandered into the mechanism through the date window. It was then ground into powder by the teeth of the caliber, which resulted with the oil in a paste that blocked the winding. The service replaced the caliber for free. Else very sturdy I bought this watch about 4 months ago and noticed that is started making this loud noise after about to days this stopped and was replaced by a shaking noise like something was loose. After a day it stopped ticking? does anyone know why? Thats really great eric.
Glad you had the same problem as i did, a minor glitch easily solved That's great, Eric. Glad it was a simple repair. Thanks for the info. Out of frustration I took my Amphibia to a local jeweler today. He stated the obligatory "I can't get russian watch parts" then proceeded to take the back off, reattached the rotor, replaced the case back and charged me $5.00! I'm happily again wearing my Vostok. Hopefully it won't happen again! Howdy...Appreciate everyones input. I have emailed Smirs to request warranty service 5 times in three weeks with no reply. As one who has traveled in Russia I should have remembered that customer service isn't one of their strong points. yep, i did like CJ for the exact reason. send it, more money and trouble for a cheap watch. a fiable repair guy, hard to find. but to do what i did, anyone can do in less than 5m (if the problem was like mine). i didnt send the watch back, because even with the noise it worked very well, so i guessed it wasnt nothing too complex or mindblowing, fortunately i was right... i bought my tools on ebay too. nothing too expensive. and for one who likes gadgets, very fun.
if the clock didnt work at all or worked bad, id would send it back too. cause the problem probably would be bigger than my expertise (that is close to none) Eric, in my experience a lot of watch repair guys don't like to touch Russian watches since they aren't familiar with them. And if you find one that will do it they sometimes end up charging more than the watch is worth. I bought basic watch repairing tools on eBay so I can dismantle and repair my own watches. It's actually quite enjoyable. And since the watches are not expensive I don't worry too much if I break one. Hello, Pete
I am clueless about watches. Could a local clocksmith do what you did?
Hoping to hear your reply.
Eric
to eric:
mine came with that rattling noise, it worked fine, but had that noise, i guessed (and was right) the screw above the rotor was loose... for the price and trouble and time of sending it back, i opened it (with a jax and a support) and then gently screw it down, 5m work, it works fine for a week now. i guess this happens a few times unfortenately Have been wearing my Amphibia for 5 weeks(identical to the one pictured above). Today it developed a loud rattling/sliding around sound on the inside. Emailed Smirs about repair...I took six weeks to get it; no telling how long to get it fixed. Absolutely love my Amphibia! Loads of watch for the money. I changed the band on mine. Put on a $10 black nylon strap. It's perfect for the watch. I have one , 7 years like new.Thanks. |
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